Attachment for firearms.



No. 789,403. I PATENTED MAY 9 1). A. AITKBN.

ATTACHMENT FOR FIREARMS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9, 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 9, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE. p

ATTACHMENT FOR FIREARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 789,403, dated May 9, 1905.

Application filed February 9, 1904;. Serial No. 192,783-

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that 1, DAVID A. AITKEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sault Ste. Marie, in the county of Chippewa and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an attachment for firearms, and is adapted for use on gun-barrels, the object being to provide a hand-grip which may be adjusted to fit diiferent-gaged barrels and which protects the shooters hand from the heat emanating from rapid or successive discharges and at the same time permitting a firm grasp and steady aim without obstructing the view of the sights.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of my invention reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a view in side elevation with the attachment applied to a gun-barrel. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line a a, Fig. 1, through the body portion of the hand-grip and showing one form of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line as w of Fig. 1, showing another form of hand-grip. Fig. i is a detail in section through one end of the adjusting-screw and its bearings as taken on the line y y of Fig. 3.

Making renewed reference to the drawings, wherein similar reference notations indicate corresponding parts appearing in the, several illustrations, 1 designates an auxiliary stock for the gun-barrel which constitutes the body portion of the hand-grip, and it may be composed of aluminium, steel, wood, or any other suitable light material which will not add greatly to the weight of the gun, and thereby facilitate the manipulation of the same.

In Fig. 2 the body portion is composed of a metallic plate, which is bentin substantially U-shaped form and has such a thickness as to permit it to yield laterally, so that it may be expanded or contracted to fit different-gaged gun-barrels. When this form of body portion is employed, the ends may be closed by strips of some flexible material, such as leather or rubber; but the closure is not illustrated in the drawings.

In Fig. 3 the body portion is shown as composed of two pieces of wood 2 2, which are disposed longitudinally of the gun-barrel and formed with beveled contiguous faces 3 3,

which provide a V-shaped slot that tapers from the upper edge toward the lower edge thereof. The lower contiguous edges of the pieces 2 2 are also beveled in an opposite direction, so as to provide an intermediate bearing-point between the V-shaped slot and the incision 4, which is formed by the lower edges, and the two pieces 2 2 are rocked axially with the intermediate bearing-point as an axis when the hand-grip is adjusted laterally for dilferent-gaged gun-barrels, as will be 5 more fully explained hereinafter. The upper outside faces of the body portion are reduced to form a groove or recess 2, into which the fingers and thumb of the user may be inserted to facilitate a firm grip and steady aim. 7

trated in Fig. 3 the recesses'2 may be formed by providing a recess in the wooden pieces 2 2.

The body portion is embraced around its lower and side faces by clip members 7, which are spaced apart at suitable distances to provide suflicient space therebetween for the hand of the user, there preferably being two of such clips, one near each end, as shown in Fig. 1. Each clip 7 has opposite inwardlydirected bosses 5 and 6, which fit within the groove or recess 2 of the body portion, and 5 the outer faces of the clip members are also preferably directed inwardly, so as to form grooves on opposite sides of the hand-grip, so that if the user happens to grasp the handgrip around one of the clips there will be a 9 suflicient reentrant portion to insure of a firm hold. Extending from the bosses 5 and 6 of the clip and integrally formed therewith are curved fingers 8, Which are adapted to conform to the periphery of a gun-barrel, and being of resilient material, such as spring steel or aluminium, they form a constrictive engagement about the gun-barrel and maintain the grip securely in place'thereon.

Secured to or integrally formed with the I00 upper edges of the body portion 1 are curved plates 9 9, which extend up and partly envelop the gun-barrel, and to the inner faces of these plates and to the inner faces of the fingers 8, which project beyond the upper edges of the former, are cemented or otherwise secured strips of asbestos, leather, rubber, or other heat-resisting material 10, whereby the heat from the barrel will not be transmitted to the hand-grip therebeneath and the finish of the barrel will not be marred or injured.

One of the salient features of my invention resides in the manner of adjusting the grip for. difierent-gaged barrels, and this adjustment consists of a screw 11, having a threaded engagement at one end with the boss 5 and extending through an aperture or elongated slot 12, formed in the boss 6 on the other side of the clip. Mounted on the screw is a collar 13, adapted to have a vertical play within the elongated slot 12, the collar being held on the screw by means of its head 14.

From the description thus far given it will be seen that when the device is to be adjusted to a gun-barrel of larger or smaller gage the screw 11 is tightened or loosened to contract or expand the fingers of the clip and there will be of necessity a slight vertical play of the screw, and this play is permitted by virtue of the collar 13 sliding in the slot 12, and during the movement of the pieces 2 2, Fig. 3, toward or away from each other they Will be rocked in a horizontal plane by virtue of the contiguous beveled faces 3 3 and the incision 4.

Heretofore it has been customary to extend the fore-stock of the gun forward beneath the barrel, so that the hand of the shooter would be protected from the heat of the same, but such an arrangement detracts from the appearance of the firearm and at the same time provides a very cumbersome and bulky structure. provision is made for adjusting the same close to the stock without removing the fore-stock. In this respect the forward end of the body portion 1 is formed with a slot or recess 15, into which the fore-stock may be inserted, and when so adjusted the latter assists in holding the hand-grip in position.

With my improved hand-grip the fingers of the shooter are'prevented from being burned by the barrel, which usually becomes heated after successive discharges, and the view of the sights is not obstructed by the fingers over lapping the top of the gun-barrel, as is ordinarily the case. In this respect it is to be noted that the fingers 8 of the clip member do not entirely surround the gun-barrels, but terminate short of the center thereof, so that the sights are in full View. It will be further observed that by the construction of the body portion, which may be either a springmetal plate, such as shown in Fig. 2, or a wooden core, such as shown in Fig. 3, a wide With my improved hand-grip range of adjustment may be accomplished and the device may be fitted to any gun from a ten-gage to a sixteen or eighteen gage, although changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details may be resorted to within the terms of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An attachment for firearms consisting of a laterally-yielding body portion extending longitudinally of and depending from the barrel and constituting a hand-grip, a resilient clip secured to and embracing the said body portion and having upwardly-extending fingers adapted to constrictively engage about the barrel, and an adjusting-screw piercing the body portion and having a threaded engagement with the clip, whereby the clip and body portion may be contracted and expanded.

2. An attachment for firearms consisting of a laterally-yielding body portion extending longitudinally of and depending from the barrel and constituting a hand-grip, resilient clips secured to and embracing the said body portion near each end thereof, fingers extending upwardly from the clip and adapted to constrictively engage-the barrel, and a plate secured to each side of the body portion and embraced by the clips, substantially as specified.

3. An attachment for firearms, consisting of a laterally-yielding body portion extending longitudinally of and depending from the barrel and constitutinga hand-grip, resilient clips secured to and embracing the said body portion near each end thereof, fingers extending upwardly from the clip and adapted to constrictively engage the barrel, a plate secured to each side of the body portion and embraced by the clips, and a heat-resisting pad secured to the inner sides of said plates and to the inner faces of the fingers.

4. A hand-grip of the class described, comprising a body portion, a clip secured to the body portion and having fingers adapted to embrace the gun barrel or barrels, and means for expanding or contracting the body portion to adjust the fingers of the clip, substantially as specified.

5. An attachment for firearms comprising a body portion which is formed of an expansible U-shaped plate to constitute a hand-grip beneath the barrel, a clip embracing the body portion and having upwardly-extending lingers adapted to embrace the gun-barrel, and also having an elongated slot in one side thereof, an adjusting-screw having a threaded engagement with the otherside of the clip, and a collar on the screw adapted to play in the slot when the clip is expanded or contracted, substantially as specified.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a laterally-yielding body portion, a clip member embracing the body portion and having inwardly-directed bosses on opposite sides thereof, and also having fingers I In testimony WhereofI have signed my name adapted to encircle the gun-barrel, an adjustto this specification in the presence of tWo subing-screw engaged in the bosses of the clip for scribing Witnesses. expanding and contracting the fingers there- DAVID A. AITKEN. of so as to fit different-gaged barrels, and a Witnesses:

heat-resisting pad interposed between the fin- WM. M. SNELL,

gers and the barrels. ISABEL MOKEGHNIE. 

